More seasonal jobs available this holiday season

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -- Retailers are starting up the holiday hiring process and some major companies say there will be even more temporary jobs than last year.

Locally, Creative Kids Stuff executives say so far this year all signs point to a positive gain this holiday season. They too have started hiring workers.

"In the last three months of the year is when we do most of our business for the entire year, so our staff, it's not unexpected, that it would almost double during those three months," said Happi Olson with Creative Kids Stuff.

Macy's has announced it will hire some 78,000 temporary jobs across the county, which is up 4% from last year. Toys R Us says it will add 40,000 part-timers, about the same as 2010. More people must mean companies are expecting big sales this season, but experts say, it's too hard to predict.

"My sense is things look positive plus or minus all the economic uncertainty. If it gets too uncertain, people reign in and holidays are what gets hurt. But, if it settles, I can see it being a banner year," said Professor Mark Bergen with Carlson School of Management.

Bergen says the instability in Europe, the markets, even politics could play a role in the success of the shopping season, so while you can't predict sales, what you can predict is the push to get you in.

"What you'll see are a lot of things to draw you in the store. Really low prices, really hot items, things that are going to be worth your while," Bergen said.